Wed August 29, 2012

With Photo And A Joke, Neil Bush Becomes Internet Sensation In China

China's latest online sensation is a Bush, but perhaps surprisingly, it's neither the 41st or the 43rd President of the US. In fact, Neil Bush, the younger brother of 43 and the son of 41 has become an online sensation in China after posting a joke photo on China's version of twitter.

Now his microblog has become a hot political topic inside China, after he posted a photo of himself wearing a Communist-style green cap with a red star. Slung across his chest is a bag emblazoned with Chairman Mao's slogan "Serve the People", and he's holding a mug featuring Chairman Mao.

The caption — accompanied by a chuckling face icon — reads, "I'm thinking of joining the Chinese Communist party. What do you think of my accessories?"

This picture has been forwarded almost ten thousand times, with more than five thousand comments posted, mostly sarcastic, which is not atypical on China's microblogs. Most of the comments have not been censored or deleted.

One user wrote, "To join our party, you need to know how to be corrupt and how to take bribes, how to rape young girls and how to cheat and hurt ordinary people. These are not things that ordinary people can do. Can you do that?"

The wealth of China's Communist party members has been much discussed on the internet, with bloggers joking that the legislative session in March should be rechristened Beijing Fashion Week due to the parade of luxury accessories on display. So several wags joked that Bush had noticed the CCP is becoming one of the world's richest political parties.

China's own political culture of brutal political campaigns and purges was also skewered, with one Internet user suggesting CCP membership would only be possible if Bush took part in Cultural-revolution-style "struggle sessions" criticising both the junior and the senior presidents in his family.